Overall fantastic cruise with unexpected surprises

Item: Royal Princess
Rating: 4.6
Author: PNWMolly

Royal Princess Cruise Review to Transatlantic

PNWMolly

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 40

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5

15 Night Norway & Atlantic Passage (Southampton To New York)

Sail date: September 10, 2018

Ship: Royal Princess

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Our cruise itinerary changed due to hurricane, and we missed 3 ports. Added two ports to the south, which were Vigo, Spain, and Ponta Delgada, Azores. The two new ports were excellent, especially the Azores. Azores were incredibly beautiful and we learned a lot about them on a tour that was arranged by Princess. Princess did compensate each guest on the cruise for missing the ports ($200 per person). A great cruise!

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Wait staff in main dining room was wonderful, and food was excellent (one meal was just ok). We also ate in the buffet (Horizon court and bistro) and the food there was always very good. Crown Grill was good, but we felt a little rushed (we had 8:00 PM dining).

Alfredo's Pizzeria

5 out of 5

We loved going to Alfredo's for a sit down dinner at no extra charge. Wonderful salad, many choices of entrees, and dessert! Nice staff as well.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

There were plenty of activities provided during this cruise. Sea days could be as busy, or calm, as you liked.

Lotus Spa

5 out of 5

We purchased Enclave packages at the spa, so every day we used the Enclave (steam room, spa/jacuzzi, heated chairs) and then had use of the large shower rooms in the spa. We also found a "relaxation" room that we frequently used for reading, having a cup of tea or water, after our time in the Enclave.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

We attended many of the entertainment, shows, activities on board. Cruise Director Matt O and his staff were great.

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Baja 529 (B529) is an inside stateroom. Three adults in the room. We got along fine since we don't spend much time in the room. Storage and closet space was excellent.

Ports of call

Southampton (London), England Did not visit port

Thumbs Up 0

Rotterdam, Netherlands

4 out of 5

Bike and Bite tour (found it on Trip Advisor) was excellent. Saw a lot of the city sites as well as eating food!

Thumbs Up 1

Hamburg, Germany

4 out of 5

Docked at Hafencity, so it was an easy walk into the city to see three churches, art, etc. In the afternoon, we took the Princess excursion to Neuregamme Concentration Camp.

Thumbs Up 0

Bergen, Norway Did not visit port

Thumbs Up 0

Belfast, Northern Ireland Did not visit port

Thumbs Up 0

St. John's, Newfoundland Did not visit port

Thumbs Up 0

New York, New York Did not visit port

Thumbs Up 0